Betrayal
by puppyluv94
Summary: Don't you just hate cliche? Well, what happens when your best friend and your boyfriend have an affair and you find out? not sure if oneshot yet, please review. Good story!
1. Chapter 1

My life wasn't brilliant, contrary to popular belief here at East High. They all thought because I was dating basketball hotshot Troy Bolton, I had everything I would ever need. In some ways I did. With him and all our friends, I had a pretty peachy social life. It was my home life that was falling to pieces.

My mom and dad recently got a divorce, a messy one, one that lasted the best part of three years. Between the arguments, and having to deal with my dad moving out, and my mom getting a new sleeping partner who frequently came in between the once inseparable mother and daughter duo, I had a pretty tough time. But then Troy Bolton came into my life, and with him, he brought love and protection and he just offered me a place and person to talk to when I felt like I was going to explode due to all the bottled emotions. Then, I became best friends with Taylor McKessie, Sharpay Evans and Kelsi Nielson, and I had somewhere to escape to. They only knew the basics of what was happening at home, so I was happy about that. Troy was the only one who I left in all the way, who had finally cracked the walls around my heart that built when my parents forgot to care about me.

The four members of the Wildcat basketball team who were dating us girls were the nicest and nicest guys I will probably ever meet. Troy, the cute, sweet one; Chad, the funny one; Zeke, the sensitive baker; and Jason, the guy who fits into pretty much every category. We were all so close it was unbelievable as we were completely different. Taylor and I were the einsteinettes, Sharpay and Kelsi were the drama freaks, and the guys, well the guys were guys. I was the youngest and the most vulnerable, so everyone in the gang looked out for me the most. The guys (apart from Troy) became my over-protective big brothers, and the girls were like my sisters. Everything was great, none of us ever argued and I thought we would all be best friends forever. Pretty naive of me, huh?

_Flashback_

"_Thank God! I thought that meeting would never end!" I exclaimed as I tried to start my brain again after the mind-numbing process of AP Chem. Club._

"_I know! Chemistry's my favourite subject, but having to sit there after school only to listen to freshman's science fair ideas is so annoying!" I giggled at the exasperated look on Taylor's face. Being the most respected seniors in the club, we had to judge some experiments for the state fair coming up and unfortunately the meeting had to be held after school. The only good thing was that all the rest of the gang had things to do at school too, so after we had all finished, we had decided to go get some ice-cream. Luckily, AP Chem. Club finished five minutes earlier than expected, so at least Taylor and I would have time to cross the school in order to get to the music room where we had all agreed to meet. Due to the fact that the hallways were empty, we got there two minutes before everybody got out of their clubs, but I almost wish we hadn't._

_We heard noises as we neared the door and curiosity overtook us and we opened it. I gasped as I took in the scene in front of me. There, was my boyfriend, making out with __**best friend**__, both of them topless. I looked on in horror as his expert hands raced down her slender curves, hands that had touched me in places no one had ever gone before .My stomach churned as I heard her soft moan, evidently showing the pleasure he was giving her._

_It was Taylor who screamed first, making them jump apart. When they saw me, the looks on their faces made my eyes sting. I swallowed hard, trying to avoid the lump in my throat, but it only grew _

_bigger. My heart shattered as I saw Troy frantically look around for his top, and I tried to speak but I just ended up shutting my eyes, trying desperately to rid my mind of the image of them together, but to no avail. It was burned onto my brain forever, as a constant reminder never to break down the walls again. _

"_I-I.." The world was spinning before my eyes. I had to get out of there. I had to. I just-.  
I turned and ran as fast as I possibly could, ignoring the looks from people who had just come out of their clubs, ignoring the whispers about the tears coursing down my cheeks, ignoring the pain deep down in my chest, but most of all, ignoring the screaming voice in the back of my head saying "I told you so. Why would he ever love you? Every time you spoke to him about your life he was probably thinking about Sharpay." Oh my God. A sudden thought hit me. What if her told Sharpay he loved her too? What if our whole relationship was a scam? I ran harder at the thought, my eyes stinging painfully. I could hear Taylor running to catch up with me, along with another pair of footsteps I assumed to be Troy's. _

_I dodged and weaved my way in between the bodies in the hallways, until I crashed into a sturdy one. I felt arms hold her up, preventing me from falling but I really couldn't care less at that moment._

"_Gabs, what's wrong?" I opened my eyes to see Chad's normally twinkly brown doe eyes clouded over with worry. I looked at the other people, seeing all my friends with the same look. Taylor approached me and I desperately tried to wriggle myself free from Chad's grasp, anxious to just get out of there, to just get home and cry._

"_Troy." Taylor gasped as she finally reached us. I had used my dance legs to run, but Taylor wasn't used to running long distances at my speed._

_A look of understanding crossed my friends' faces and they looked at me sympathetically. I frowned. I glanced over at Zeke who was staring intently at the floor and suddenly a wave of nausea came over me._

"_Y-you, you all know." The sadness in their eyes was enough for me to comprehend. _

"_That's why you broke up with Sharpay isn't it? Because she was cheating on you with Troy?" I directed my question at Zeke, trying to ignore the panging in my heart. My head span as he slowly nodded, never taking his eyes off his shoes. I stared over Chad's shoulders to the cold white lockers behind him._

"_I can't believe it. You lied to me. All of you. You __**all**__ lied to me." I shook my head as if trying to rid myself of the knowledge that all of my friends had betrayed me._

"_Gabs-" Chad started, but I just wasn't in the mood to be rational._

"_Forget it." I spat, finally breaking free of his grip and running towards the big red doors before I could discover something else they had lied to me about. They were supposed to be my __**best friends **__and yet they didn't think it was important to tell me that my boyfriend was cheating on me._

_END Flashback_

Later that night, I got home and just cried. And not only about that, I found that one I started, I just couldn't stop. All the lies, all the heart break I had suffered over the past three years just poured out and I have never felt so vulnerable. But it was then that I realised that crying wouldn't solve anything. Sure, it was a good fix for a couple of hours but then what would happen? I'd be all dried up but I'd still have been cheated on. So I decided to do something else. Wallow for one night and then at least try to move on. I got up and pulled my brown sweats on, tucked my trouser bottoms into my uggs and I left the house to buy some ice-cream and rent some DVDs. My mom was out again, and I knew she wouldn't be back until the early hours of the morning if at all. Of course, she wouldn't ring me to tell me or to even check up on me, so I would be all alone. The way I'd grown accustomed to.

I paid for my twelve tubs of Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice-Cream and left the supermarket. I walked through the park, and sat down on the bench where Troy first told me he loved me. My eyes automatically started to water, and I wiped my cheeks ferociously, disgusted by my own crying.

"Gabriella?" A soft voice broke me out of my trance. I looked up and almost sighed in relief when I saw Zeke. He smiled gently and sat down at the side of me.

"Gabs, look, I know this isn't any consolation for lying to you but I really am sorry."

"No, I'm sorry." He whipped his head up to look at me, disbelief etched upon his face.

"Why? I'm the one that lied to you. I know I should have told you the real reason that I broke up with Sharpay, and I came so close, but the day I was going to do it, I lost my nerve. Remember that day when you came to see me? You were talking to me about how happy you were that you had someone like Troy? That was the day I was going to tell you. But you seemed so happy, I just, I-I didn't want to ruin that." He looked like a lost puppy that I couldn't help but giggle.

"Zeke, I understand how hard it was for you. I'm not even mad at the rest of the gang. I'm just mad at those two."

"Good, you didn't know how scared I felt when I thought I'd lost my best friend!" I smiled and leaned over to give him a big hug. I always loved Zeke, he was just so sweet, and we had a kind of bond that no one could ever break. And now that our partners had deceived both of us, it just made it stronger.

"You always know how to cheer me up Zeke. " I mumbled into his shoulder. I leaned back slightly. "Now I'm going home to eat six tubs of ice-cream." He smiled.

"I thought I cheered you up?"

"Oh, you did, there are twelve in here!" I giggled and he held out his arm to me.

"Want me to walk you home?"

"Sure." We started off walking slowly through the park. "So, what do guys do when they break up with someone?"

"We usually play sports; hang around with the guys, crap like that."

"So you don't binge on junk food?" I asked in disbelief. Zeke chuckled at my face.

"No Gabs. We do that anyway."

"Oh, yeah." I laughed. "Well, want to try some good old-fashioned moping Zeke?"

"With you? Obviously!" We arrived at my house and headed straight for the living room. I put House of Wax on, which had lost its 'scariness' by the twentieth time I'd watched it, and each grabbed a big spoon from the kitchen. We settled on the sofa and that's the way we stayed all night, Zeke calling his parents to reassure them he was fine, and me just wishing that my mom cared about me enough to even just call to tell me that she would be stopping out all night.

The next day, Zeke left early to go get ready at his house, and we agreed to meet at school. I had a shower and pulled on a pair of dark skinny jeans and a white tank from Hollister. I grabbed a white Abercrombie and Fitch sweater and a granola bar and headed over to my black Mercedes Benz convertible, which my granddad bought for me.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see groups huddled together, discussing me as if I was a piece of meat. _Obviously news travels fast_, I thought bitterly. However, I held my head up high and walked to Zeke's locker, where I saw him stood with a bag of choc chip cookies and an expectant look on his face.

"Have you been waiting for me?" I teased, finding it easier to concentrate on than the non-stop whispering surrounding me.

"Nope, but I heard everyone start talking and I realised that you must have arrived Miss. Superstar." He grinned, but I could see he was worried about me.

"At least they could get their facts straight. So far I've caught snippets of,'_OMG she's pregnant, that's why they broke up' _and '_Can you believe she's transferring to Switzerland?" _I imitated a high-pitched voice whilst moving closer to Zeke.

"Aw, my poor baby!" He grinned and immediately enveloped me in a hug. I smiled against his chest and moved my head back to smirk up at him. Before he had the chance to notice me smiling at him, I noticed his brown eyes darken considerably and daggers fly out of them. I turned around in his arms to see who he was aiming at and my smile instantly faded as I saw Troy stood there.

"Zeke, I um, I've got to go." I mumbled and picked up my tote that had fallen to the ground in the action of the hug. I quickly ran away from the scene and tried to find my locker as quickly as possible. Luckily, I was there super early, so Taylor wouldn't start worrying about me and I wouldn't have to deal with people staring at me when I'm getting my books ready. As conspicuously as possible, I stuffed my bag into my locker and ran to the library.

All day I had managed to avoid both Troy and Sharpay by some miracle and I only bumped into the rest of my friends occasionally during the day, but I always had to get someplace else. I remember just yesterday moaning about how today was going to be the worst day because I had no classes 

with any of my friends and during homeroom I had to work in the office. But now, I couldn't have been happier.

I was walking to Zeke's locker at the end of the day, to ask him if he wanted to hang out tonight. Out of everyone I knew, I just felt more connected to Zeke, after all, the same thing had happened to both of us, partner with best friend. I was turning the corner when I heard a load of voices I instantly recognized to be my friends, Troy and Sharpay. I hid behind the wall so I could listen to what they were saying.

"-well then why is everyone saying that you are dating?" Taylor's voice came up the loudest. I heard Zeke sigh loudly before replying.

"Because they just want some more excitement in their pathetic little lives. Look, Gabriella's one of my best friends, okay? That's a no-go zone for us."

"She was my best friend and we started dating." I gasped softly as I heard Troy's firm voice.

"Yeah? And just look at the way that panned out." Sarcasm dripped from Zeke's voice and I suddenly understood that every time we all hung out together, it must have been so hard for him, knowing that the reason that his relationship broke down was acting like his best friend. What little remained of my heart cracked at the thought of the sensitive guy in front of me having to be subjected to that.

"Zeke, look, just tell us this. Is it true that you spent the night at her house?" I smiled at the concern in Chad's voice.

"Yeah, but nothing happened. Dude, she's like my little sister, you know I just wouldn't go there. We just talked and watched movies. She needed someone there."

"Then why didn't she come to us? Why did she have to go to you?" After Taylor spoke, I could almost imagine Zeke getting riled up.

"Because _Taylor,_ you were on a date with your boyfriend, Kelsi, so were you and do you really think she would have turned to you two?" I gathered he was talking about Troy and Sharpay at this point, and even I cringed at the harsh tone of his voice, but I knew they deserved it. "And you know, she didn't even call me. She had disconnected all her phones so she would be left alone, so I went out to look for her. Guess where she was? At the park, where you first told her you loved her, with twelve tubs of ice-cream. But do you know what the saddest part was? When she saw me, her eyes lit up and the first thing out of her mouth was an apology. _She _was apologising to me, to us, for running away from us like that. She said that she was sorry that she blamed us for lying to her and that she understood how hard the situation must have been and that she would've done the exact same thing. But we all know that's not true, don't we? Gabriella would have found a good way of telling us, and then would have convinced us to take whoever it was back."

I peeked around the corner in time to see Zeke glaring at Troy and Sharpay. "And the fact that people like_ you_ could hurt such a beautiful soul like that disgusts me. She didn't deserve it, any of it. She doesn't deserve the fact that her mom is an asshole; she doesn't deserve to have a best friend who will screw her boyfriend; and most of all she doesn't deserve a boyfriend who breaks her heart. But she doesn't think of it that way. She blames herself for being to busy to spend more time with you _Bolton,_ and she thinks maybe she didn't pay you enough attention as her best friend Sharpay. And right now, I'm the only 

one she can even half relate to. She doesn't want to disturb you two while you're on dates with your boyfriends, and God knows why she'd want to talk to you. So yeah, that's why she came to me. Does that answer your question?"

"I still love her." I saw Troy bow his head, but I was too moved by Zeke's speech to even think about it. "Can you tell her that?" He said quietly.

"No, because I don't want my best friend hurt any more than she already is."

"At least give her the chance to consider taking me back!" Troy exclaimed and Zeke suddenly looked like he was going to punch him.

"You ever go near her again and I swear I'll-" His voice was dangerously low and I knew I had to step in.

"Zeke!" Everybody turned to look at me and I suddenly shrunk back. I locked eyes with a pair of strikingly blue ones but I trained mine to stay on Zeke's.

"Gabs." He said weakly. I smiled at him but then looked at the ground.

"Um, I-I was just wondering whether you were going to come tonight."

"To that party?"

"Um, yeah." He must have noticed my discomfort as I could sense a teasing tone coming from him.

"Does that mean that I won't have to watch The Notebook?" I looked up at him and grinned, almost forgetting the others in the hallway.

"Nope. I will make you watch it sooner or later. Probably after the party." I decided.

"See, look at that!" Sharpay grabbed my attention by gesturing wildly, "You two are flirting like mad! She's practically offering herself on a plate! She's only acting like a slut so you'll sleep with her and she can move on." There was a shocked silence after her little outburst. Tears immediately welled up in my eyes as I croaked, "You think I'm a slut?"

"Gaby, she's not worth your tears. Come on, you still have four tubs of ice-cream left." Zeke glared fiercely at the blonde as he strode over to me quickly. He grabbed onto my arm and proceeded to pull me gently down the hallway.

"No, Zeke I-" He cut me off as we rounded a corner.  
"Gabriella, I am _not _letting you go talk to her. She said that to get a reaction out of you, that's all."

"Really?" My voice was small and choked up with swallowed tears. He looked down at me with a protective look on his face.

"Really." He confirmed. I slowly linked arms with him and we continued to walk out of the main doors to the school, ignoring the looks from the few students left. I couldn't deny it, no matter what Zeke said, what Sharpay had called me hurt. It hurt a lot.

Three hours later and here I was, sat on Daisy Richard's sofa next to a plastered Zeke, listening to the comical phrases coming out of his mouth. I was slightly tipsy but the strange thing is, I always have a clear head, even when I'm drunk. Zeke was wearing some dark Hollister jeans and a white polo, whereas I had on a blue short dress with a butterfly twist. It was Daisy's birthday and she was having an enormous party at her house which practically everyone was invited too. Everyone was dressed in gorgeous clothes and all the couples were grinding on the dance floor. Zeke and I had arrived together about an hour ago and I had already spotted Troy and the rest of my friends, but Zeke had pulled us over to the couch before they could see us.

"I've been thinking." Zeke stated whilst still staring aimlessly ahead of him.

"Yeah?" I wasn't really listening to him, just scanning all the faces in the crowd.

"We should hook up." I almost snorted out the punch I had been drinking as that came out of his mouth. I scoffed amusedly.

"Oh really, and why's that?" I looked over at his drunken state and my smile faltered when I saw he was staring over at Sharpay, who was currently dancing on the floor.

"We'd be perfect for each other. We balance each other out. I mean, you're the academic one and I'm the domestic one. You're practical and I'm sporty. We're both nice people and yet we both got treated like dirt by the one's we loved." He brightened cheerfully. "See, just think about it." I smiled at him and nearly fell into hysterics as he exclaimed the next line whilst still looking directly at Sharpay. "And we're both smoking _hot_!!" I giggled as I got up to get another drink for myself. Zeke had already had enough and was now just spurting out nonsense. When I got back, I noticed that his eyes still hadn't strayed from the blonde.

"Do you miss her?" I asked him quietly. He looked over at me and I saw the pain buried deep inside his heart.

"More than anything. What about you, how are you coping?" I sighed. A load of people had asked me that question, but Zeke was the only one I could be truly honest with.

"I'm not. I feel like my whole world has changed, and I just want something to come and swallow me up. I don't even care about all the rumours going round or all the dirty looks that people keep giving me. They all blame me because, of course, Troy's too perfect to ever make a mistake." Zeke chuckled lightly at the sarcasm that was dripping from my words.

"Gabs, you know the truth and at the end of the day that's all that's matters." He smiled at me and I could see him desperately trying to cheer me up.

"Thanks Zeke, but I think I need a few more of these before I can believe that." I shook my drink at him as he chuckled.

Another hour later I was dancing next to random guys, my insecurities completely out of the window. I couldn't care less about anything else but dancing. I loved to dance and I always did but when I got together with Troy, it was harder because everyone would watch. I danced only when no one would pay attention to me. From the corner of the room, I could sense eyes staring at me. Very _distinctive _eyes. But I shook the thought out of my head and just lost myself in the music.

As I got thirsty, I went in search of a drink, pulling a drunken Zeke along with me. Somehow though, in the crowd, he got swallowed up and I felt two strong hands grab my waist and push me to the wall. My eyes jumped up to see two strikingly blue ones looking straight down at me. I immediately searched for someone to save me from over his shoulder, but stopped as soon as he spoke.

"Look at me." He demanded, his voice firm and determined. Gosh, why does he have to have such a sexy voice when he's mad? I didn't respond, instead finding a new appreciation for my shoes.

"Gabriella." His tone was dangerously low, and I almost wanted to look up at him to see if his eyes had turned that stormy navy colour they always did when he was angry.

But I couldn't.

Because to look up would be to give in, because I knew that as soon as I looked into his eyes, I would be succumbed to his every power and there would be no way of me getting out of this party single.

But I couldn't.

Because if I looked into his eyes, I would only see the replay of him and Sharpay struggling to get their clothes on, the same scene that had been playing through my mind every time I closed _my_ eyes.

But I couldn't.

Because he hurt me when he promised he would always protect me.

And I couldn't, because he was the only one after the break up of my family, that actually cared how _I_ was feeling and in consequence, breaking down the fucking walls I had spent so long trying to build around my heart to stop myself feeling that pain again. Now the walls were broken, and I was hurt and there was no Prince Charming riding over the horizon. Because this was real life, and in real life, there are no happy endings.

So I didn't.

My whole body froze with apprehension when his hand came into contact with my chin. He gently raised my head to look him in the eyes, but I ducked my own just before we made contact.

"Don't."

"Brie-"

"Please." I begged, "don't."

"We've got to talk." Oh, how I hated that phrase.

"No Troy. We don't _got_ to do anything."

"Brie, please. I..I can explain." Come to think of it, I hated that one too. They always made things seem like they could be sorted with a conversation over tea and biscuits. But life isn't like that.

"How cliché." I built up all that was left of my broken heart to finally look into his eyes. "I hate cliché." And with that, I swept across the room toward the exit, swiftly wiping my unfallen tears with the back of my hand.

**Well, well, well I'm back again! I hope you like this, it's just been sitting in my documents so I thought I'd upload it. Like it? Love it? Constructive criticsm? Either way please review. I'm thinking of leaving it as a ONESHOT, or I could make it a 2shot or even a full-lenght story but I need to know what you guys think! R&R XX**

_Charrrrr X_


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for all the responses to the first chapter! I love you all! This chapter is dedicated to everyone of my reviewers and I'm sorry it took so long to get it on here! BTW Check my author's note at the bottom!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything High School Musical related apart from the plot and any OCs. **

"_How cliché." I built up all that was left of my broken heart to finally look into his eyes. "I hate cliché." And with that, I swept across the room toward the exit, swiftly wiping my unfallen tears with the back of my hand._

I ran out of the building as fast as I could, but as I reached the driveway, Taylor's hand on my arm spun me around. As I turned, I came face-to-face with all of my friends, including Troy, and everybody else who wanted to witness the showdown.

"Gabs, look, don't let him ruin your night." Taylor's eyes bore into mine, but my mind drew a blank.

"Yeah Gaby. Stay with us." Gosh, why was everyone so damn determined to stop me from getting home and crying into my pillow? I saw Troy start to step forward from the now formed crowd and I turned to look at him.

"How long?" I whispered, almost afraid of the answer.

"Please-" He protested, reaching out towards me before I slapped his hand away in disgust. The same hands had touched Sharpay, no way were they coming near me again.

"How long?" I stated firmly, scaring myself with the icy tone to my voice.

"Two months" He whispered and at that moment, the ice that was contained in my voice shattered and I realised that I had only manufactured it to get me though the moment.

"T-two months? God, it wasn't even a stupid mistake-two months? Of deliberate lying and deception?" **(**_**That last line comes from **__**Nothing but a Scapegoat**__** by FollowingTheSigns. Seriously check it out, it is honestly one of the best stories I have ever read! Its in my favourites! Anywho, hope it was okay to use it!**_ _**)**_

Suddenly, I felt as if I couldn't breathe. He had lied to me for _two months_. _Two fucking months. _My throat closed up as tears blurred my vision, but I could just make out Chad pulling back a tearful Troy. I gasped and my hand flew to my mouth, my heart breaking as I realised that even on my birthday, when he gave me the ring that had been passed down through his family for generations, and that was at this present moment lying forgotten on my chest on a gold chain that he had bought for me to wear it on, he was with her. He was screwing her behind my back when he swore I was the only one for him. Something hit me, and before I could control myself it was out of my mouth.

"My birthday party. That's why you were late wasn't it; it had nothing to do with your dad not letting you out. You were with _her_." My question was confirmed when he hung his head.

"Oh my god." I breathed.

"Brie I didn't mean to." He pleaded pathetically, but all I could think about were all the lies he must have told me. The lies they both must have told me.

"How could you? I told you everything about me, I let you in on every tiny little detail, you _know _how much I hate liars, how hard it is for me to trust people. And yet, you did this to me."

"I'm so sorry Brie. God, I'm so sorry."

"I practically barfed my soul in front of you. You were the one person who I trusted most in the whole world, whenever my life was crap, I'd come to you and you'd sort it out. Do you _really _expect 'sorry' to make up for this?" I shook my head and diverted my eyes to the ground. "I'm gonna go."

"Come on Gabs! Don't you think you're being a bit melodramatic over this?" Taylor exclaimed and by the way she slurred her words, it was clear to me that she'd had a drink or two. Taylor had always said that she despised weak people. She said that everybody has to go through crap in their lives and if everyone ran away, we'd only have the Brady Bunch left over. "You know I hate weak people." And by the look in her eyes, I could tell that she meant it.

A sudden sound echoed through the silence of the night. Zeke strode out of the house, with no regard to the plant pot he just knocked over. He stood confused for a moment, staring at the now large crowd, until he saw my tears and then his eyes sobered up immediately. He ran up to me and wrapped his arms around me, glaring at the spectators in the process. I shut my eyes tightly, hoping that by doing so, I could eliminate the look of disgust for my weakness in Taylor's eyes, the smugness in the cheerleaders' eyes, the sympathy in the academics', and especially the sorrow in Troy's. To look into his eyes would be to crack and although I was weak, I knew I owed myself more than to just go running back into his arms. His _tainted_ arms.

"Zeke, I can't. I just...I...n-need to...oh god I feel like I can't breathe." I stuttered. He soothingly rubbed my back and my eyes fluttered shut again. His whole body tensed and I glanced upwards in time to spot Sharpay heading right towards us.

"See!" She exclaimed, pointing a pink finger right towards me, "what did I tell you? She's not bothered about Troy; she's just milking this whole thing so she can bang him!" Her finger pointed accusingly at Zeke who gently pushed me behind him. I edged sideways to see him push Sharpay's finger away from his chest and hiss under his breath.

"You're the slut here, Sharpay, not Gabriella. Don't judge people by your standards." He snorted in disgust. "To think, when I first found out about this _sordid_ little affair, I thought that whenever it would all come out, we could get back together. But not now. You do _not_ insult my best friend after you hurt her. You do _not _even think of calling her names." He stepped back from her and shook his head. "You repulse me." I stared in shock as Sharpay gaped wordlessly but then I felt someone's gaze on me. I glanced up and saw Troy looking at me through anguished eyes and my head began to spin again. My vision grew blurred with my tears and my throat constricted. I slowly started to sink to the floor.

"_GABRIELLA!"_

You know, you'd think they'd allow people in the hospital after hours. Especially when their loved ones could wake up at any moment. But no, they leave the patients to wake up alone and afraid. Imagine if they were to open your eyes and find a strange looking woman with abnormally large nostrils poking you in the cheek. They wouldn't like it, but it's okay for us.

That's how I woke up, in the dark with a bright flashlight shining in my eyes and a very annoying prodding happening in my cheek. But now, they've called my mother in, who's all about playing Mother Mary now she's realised that I'm actually ill. For the last hour, she's been talking about me taking a vacation. Of course, she's only going along with the doctor's idea after it was 

discovered that I fainted from stress. She refuses to even consider that half of the reason I'm stressed is because of our now regular arguments. I've just been nodding along and hoping she doesn't realise that I'm actually thinking of completely different things at the moment.

"-so your father will look after you while you're away." Again I nod. My mom takes my hand. "It'll do you good to get away. I know you've been stressed recently." No she doesn't. She's been too busy with her own life to bother about her daughter's. "All the arrangements have been set. You'll leave hospital later tonight and then your dad will pick you up from the house at nine tomorrow morning. I'll pack for you. Okay?" I nod numbly. "Good. All of your friends have been asking after you, you know? Especially Troy. Never have I seen that boy look so upset. He came to visit before actually, everybody did, but that Zeke fellow wouldn't let them in. Well, he let Chad in, but you were still asleep so he didn't see you. Anything I should know about?"

"No." I murmur.

"Hmm, okay." She looks unconvinced.

"Mom, can I just sleep here tonight and dad can pick me up tomorrow morning? I really don't feel up to going home." It's a total lie. I just don't want to risk the chance of seeing Troy or Sharpay or even Taylor. Not after what she said. And I know I'm being dramatic, but in order to rebuild the walls around me I have to shut everybody out. It wasn't that big of a deal last time I did it, mostly because no one bothered to pay attention to me. But now, I have people looking out for me. And it just makes it harder.

"Alright sweetie," She decides after a moment's hesitation, "I'll go home so I can pack for you. Anything in particular you want?"

"Daisy." I say straight away. Apart from Troy, Daisy is the only one I've been able to talk to through this whole thing and she is always there for me whenever I need her. Granted, she's a stuffed cow, but still, the sentiments there. _**(Actually a true story. I got Daisy my cow when I was about seven and then two years later I find out that my parents are getting divorced. The whole family thing is true to my life, if only I had Zac Efron to guide me through it all. Hmmmmmmm...)**_

"Okay darling." She kisses my on the forehead and gives a little wave before leaving the room and once again I am plunged into loneliness. But I need this vacation. And getting over Troy will be easier if I have some gorgeous Californian surfer boys to help me. This is sounding better and better.

_**(A/N : I'm gonna skip her holiday because it'll be pretty pointless to write it all. Basically all you need to know is that she was in California!)**_

First day back at school today after two weeks of basking in the sun. The only bad thing about the whole vacation was that I couldn't forget Troy that easily, therefore I didn't get a new boyfriend. I realised that I need to forgive Troy before I can fully move on, even if I don't really want to do either of those things. The vacation made me shed some light on a few things and thankfully, I disconnected my phone so I've had no contact with anyone apart from Zeke, who I would ring from my hotel room. I told him all about the really cool guy I met over there, David Bass, who would take me out and show me all the sights at night. He already has a girlfriend though, plus we don't like each other in that way.

As I walk into school, ducking paper aeroplanes on the way to my locker, I met up with Zeke who, as soon as he saw me, ran over to me and wrapped me in his arms in a massive bear hug. I giggled as I returned the gesture.

"Nice to see you too!" I say, my voice muffled slightly by his t-shirt. He releases me to shoot me an enormous grin.

"I've missed you!"

"I talked to you like everyday on the phone." I exclaim.

"I know, but it's not the same as seeing you." I giggle again as we go to my locker. I spin in the combination and the metal door opens.

"So, what's happened since I've been away?" I questioned as I get my books out of my locker. Luckily, all my exams are over so really I didn't miss any important school-work whilst I was away.

"You've had all the school worried about your 'disappearance act' and for your information missy, I've not been left alone due to everybody asking me where you've got to." He pokes my side and I squeal, jumping away from him.

"Aw, I'm sorry I'm so popular!" I sing giggling, flicking my hair over my shoulder. Zeke chuckles before looking at me.

"What?" I ask.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I feel a smile tugging at my lips at his sensitivity. I nod convincingly.

"Yeah. I actually am. I'm gonna have to get over Troy and there's no time like the present is there? I just needed a vacation to clear a few things up for me."

"Things like what?" He asked.

"Well, I mean, there's no real point to me being mad at Troy and Sharpay is there?" At Zeke's scornful look, I quickly amended, "I'm not gonna be best friends with them or anything like that it's just- I don't know. Me being pissed at them isn't gonna take back what they did, it's just going to make it harder for me to move on with my life like I know I should."

Zeke scrutinised me carefully. "Did you catch too much sun or something?"

"Or something." I agreed, giggling to myself as I closed my locker.

"Come on Little Miss Sunshine, let's get you back to reality." He held out his arm for me to hold as we walked to homeroom.

I stiffened when I saw Troy sat at his desk staring at the window. Chad was sat in front of him talking animatedly, but I could see that he wasn't paying his friend the slightest bit of attention.

"Zeke," I whispered urgently, turning my head to face him, "what have Troy and Sharpay been up to?" I saw a flash of realization go through Zeke's eyes as he deciphered my real question. _Have they been with anyone?_

"Nothing. They've been moping around the place-well, Troy has. Sharpay's been trying it on with just about everyone. I guess she didn't change after all." He shrugged and then grinned. "Let's get you to your seat before you fly off to California again." I smiled as he led me to my seat, carefully avoiding Troy's desk.

As soon as people started filing into the room, I could feel Troy's piercing gaze on me. I kept my eyes on my desk, hoping that by this way, not only would I be avoiding him, but I wouldn't have to look at everything I had lost. My body slumped with relief when Taylor ran over to me and distracted my temptation to look at Troy. I could hear people gasp when they entered the room only to find me sat in my usual seat, immersed in a pointless conversation with Taylor. She kept looking over at Chad, who hadn't moved from his place on Troy's desk, talking I guessed, with their eyes. I knew she was probably feeling bad from what she had said to me at the party and her way to apologise to me without actually having to drag it up again was to manage to keep Troy occupied. Internally, I was grateful.

After successfully ignoring Troy for homeroom, I knew something was too good to be true. I walked out, hugging Zeke as we separated for our first period. I walked to my history lesson, keeping my head down in order to avoid all the sympathising glances I received. I wasn't looking for sympathy from anyone. Two rough hands grabbed my waist and pulled into the janitor's closet. I turned around quickly to see my captor before dropping my gaze to the floor.

"Brie." He breathed.

"No." I whispered brokenly. "No, Troy please."

"I want you. I need you. I seriously can't be without you. I'm so sorry for everything I've ever done to you. You have to forgive me, Brie."

"Troy- I can't."

"I want you. I know you probably hate me but-"

"I can't hate you Troy. And I hate that about you. You make it impossible for me to hate you. And I really want to."

**I'm looking for** **a beta to check my chapters before I put them on here in case I have made some spelling or grammar mistakes. Please reply! (Oooh and you'll be in a better chance of becoming my beta if you review my story!) Please review, I honestly love to hear from you. Even if it's just "I like it" or "it could be better" though if you do put the latter could you please explain why so my next chapter will be better!?**


	3. Chapter 3

"I can't hate you Troy. And I hate that about you. You make it impossible for me to hate you. And I really want to."

I felt the hurt in his eyes radiating into my own as I lifted my gaze to stare back at the shockingly blue orbs.

"I know and I'm sorry. I hate myself for what I've done. But you've gotta believe me when I say that it meant nothing to me, Brie. You know you're the only one I'll ever love." His hand slowly lifted to push back a curl which had fallen onto my face. Sparks flew from all of my impact points as we made contact and it was at that point that I knew that I would never find a guy like Troy again. One that could still make me weak in the knees even after all the time that we'd been together. One that could weaken my resolve with just one look. One that could make me love him even after he hurt me more than I'd ever been hurt before. One that loved me. Why the fuck does life have to be so complicated?

I shook off his hand. "If it meant nothing to you, why did it carry on for so long? Was I really that bad a girlfriend? That you felt like you had to go somewhere else to get some attention? If you didn't love me anymore, why didn't you just break up with me? It would've made things so much easier."

"Break up with you? Gabriella, you don't seem to understand that I love you! Okay? I fucking love you! And I know that all of this is my fault, and that I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I'm begging you. Please, don't do this to me." He pleaded, his hands blindly reaching for mine, whilst our eyes were locked on each others.

"Do this to you? Troy, you did this to yourself. This is all your own doing. Do you really think that this is easy for me; that I want this? Do you honestly believe that I wouldn't do anything in my power to take back what I saw that day, even if it meant it still going on behind my back, just so we could be together?" My eyes sagged with unshed tears and I stared up at the ceiling, trying to rid them from my lids.

"Gabs, I need you." He repeated for the last time, truly believing that he had lost her forever because of his stupid mistake.

I scoffed, "Troy, do you think I give a shit about what you _need_ anymore? I _needed _you, I _needed_ to believe that you wouldn't do something like that to me. But you did. And I'm sick of talking about this Troy. I'm sick of the looks I get in the hallways, I'm sick of the sympathetic smiles the teachers send me, I'm sick of everyone tiptoeing around me. I'm sick of crying Troy. And I'm sick of having to go through this in my head over and over again, just to see whether I made the right decision. I'm sick of it." I took a deep breath and wiped my tears, disgusted with myself for having shown weakness. "Give me some space okay? Give me some time, and maybe we can start to be friends again. I just need time."

It was at that point that Troy realised that she was afraid. Afraid of how people would react to this, afraid of how this would affect things, but most of all afraid of her future.

Without him.

And as he stared down at the beautiful girl in front of him, he realised that gravity of his mistake. Looking into her eyes, he could see all the emotions she was trying to hide from him. He could see sadness, disgust, uneasiness, fear-everything. But most of all he could see the pain. The pain he had caused the girl he loved. The pain he would give anything to take away. The pain he knew was irreversible. So he let the broken girl in front of him go. And hoped that with time she would come back to him.


End file.
